The placard welcomes tourists to the ‘turtle island’

Shillong, Nov. 1: Adventure tourism, for many, means chilling out in an air-conditioned tent in the wilderness. But for those who really wish to rough it out, it can’t get any better than this — a desolate island, with no modern amenities, including electricity, and vegetables fresh from the farm.

Lumpongdeng, the turtle-shaped island on Umiam lake — once the “mounting zone” of the army, where guns were positioned to protect the Umiam dam from Bangladeshi warplanes during the neighbouring country’s war of independence — is now being turned into a adventure resort.

For Michael Syiem, who first hit upon the idea two years ago, it was almost an “I came, I saw, I conquered” story.

Syiem and a few of his friends landed on the island, just 400 metres from the Guwahati-Shillong Road, on a fishing expedition. It struck him that Lumpongdeng “was virtually a treasure island”, whose potential had not been tapped.

Soon after, Syiem floated the Maitshaphrang Tourism Promotion Group, took the 23-acre island on lease from the Meghalaya State Electricity Board for 10 years, and began constructing cottages, cabins and an entertainment park for children.

“By January next year, we will be fully functional,” he said.

Funded by the Union ministry of tourism, the project includes construction of a traditional village on the island.

Syiem is now looking to design the landscapes.

“We will try not to disturb nature. We have decided not to use cement and concrete for construction. We have not even applied for electricity. People will have a feeling that they are truly live in a typical Meghalaya village,” said Syiem.

The Maitshaphrang Tourism Promotion Group has also begun a farming project to provide tourists with chicken and vegetables.

The group has also allotted an area for Plant a Tree for the Loved One project, where you can plant a sapling dedicated to your beloved and the maintenance will be undertaken by the Maitshaphrang Tourism Promotion Group at a nominal cost.

The tourism department will provide boats for ferrying tourists to the island, which is considered a trekker’s paradise.

So, for those who love to live life out of the haversack, or wish to wipe those city cobwebs away, the new Meghalayan paradise is just a boat-ride away.